This study examines job satisfaction, effort and performance in a group of 67 Iranians employed by the subsidiary of western multinational in Iran. Its purpose is twofold: to devise a motivational strategy which reconciles the expectations of the subjects with those of the parent company, and to contribute to the development of motivational theory, with particular reference to cross-cultural aspects. Hypotheses from Vroom (1964) and Lawler (1966) are used to provide expectancy theory predictions of satisfaction, effort and performance. These are correlated with criterion measures derived as far as possible from hard data. Longitudinal design is adopted to allow dynamic as ,,' ... ", .. .. .,,:'~, well as ·stati.c analysis. The results suggest that expectancy theory, as formulated by Vroom, is able to predict satisfaction but not effort or performance for the subject group. This finding is discussed in relation to the cultural background and to earlier Western research, in order to identify differences in the assumptions. underlying the satisfaction hypothesis on one hand, and the effort and performance hypotheses on the other. It emerges that the effort and performance hypotheses presuppose rational, future-oriented cho.. ice to an extent not implied by the satisfaction hypothesis. The main implication for motivational strategy in Iran and similar developing countries is seen as the need for a structured environment with,explicit performance-outcome contingencies and a psychological contract (Schein, 1965) which embodies a high going rate of performanceoutcome exchange between the individual and the organisati~n. The main implication for theoretical development is a proposed research strategy based on the concepts of cognition and evaluation.